First
by RedHood97
Summary: Zuko encounters a memory. Disclaimer: I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

First

Zuko exhaled slowly, causing the flame in his palm to grow brighter, lighting his path. While the mantle of Fire Lord had proved heavy, and it came with stress the likes of which he'd never experienced, he'd found wandering through the Dragonbone Catacombs to be a relaxing pastime. What's more, only the Royal Family and the most revered of Sages were allowed access, so it afforded him a degree of privacy and solitude that he'd sorely missed since taking the throne.

Zuko consulted his roughly sketched map. The Catacombs were, in theory, professionally mapped; in point of fact, the Royal Library contained almost three hundred maps of the Catacombs, all of them between eighty-five and a thousand years old. As the Fire Lord's Private Collection of knowledge and artefacts grew, so too had the many twisting tunnels that ran deep beneath Caldera City; add in the numerous hidden passageways that led through the Palace and beneath it, and it made for a complex stroll.

He turned left and found himself at the centre of a crossroads; he smirked to himself. It was a familiar situation for him. He consulted his map and the smirk slipped away. He'd reached the outer limit of his explorations; he _could _turn back, return to his chambers and maybe have an early night. He shook his head. He'd slowly been expanding his knowledge of the Catacombs; searching, in a sense, though he had no idea what for.

On a whim, he went straight on, pausing for a moment to light a wall sconce and make a small mark on his map with a stub of charcoal.

As he walked, stopping every so often to add to his crude map, Zuko noticed that the stones that made up the tunnel appeared older; the ash that coated them seemed thicker, darker, and the stones themselves looked to be more worn. He wondered when these tunnels were last walked. He glanced at the floor and took in the dense layer of dust and cobwebs that he was currently leaving footprints in. It had clearly been quite some time.

It was as he turned another corner that he saw the beginnings of carvings on the wall. It didn't surprise him as such; many tunnel walls in the Dragonbone Catacombs depicted scenes from Fire Nation history, some even showed long-forgotten prophecies. Zuko held his flame closer to the wall, squinting in the half-light.

He was unfamiliar with the scene; then again, he thought, he was still re-familiarising himself with Fire Nation lore after so many years abroad. The carving showed a man in robes bowing to large dragon. Zuko gasped when he noticed what sat pinned in the man's topknot. The Crown of the Fire Lord; the symbol of their divine right to rule, as mandated by Agni himself.

He leaned closer, tucking his map away inside his tunic. He reached a hand out to brush away some of the dust and debris that obscured the depiction.

And he found himself in a large tent, much like the command tents the Fire Nation used during the War. Zuko gazed around in alarm. That's when he saw the mirror.

It was fixed to the tent's central pole, hanging at about head height. Just a small mirror, large enough for a man to shave with. Zuko stared into it, unnerved by what he saw. It wasn't his face. Where there should have been a youthful face, marred by the hand of his father, there was a man's face. At least ten years older than Zuko, the dark hair was beginning to fleck with grey at the temples and lines had gathered around the eyes and across the brow. The Crown sat on his head and his eyes were like liquid gold. Just like Zuko's own eyes. The shape was different, though; Zuko had always been told his eyes were like his mother's, except with his father's colouring. Royal eyes. Zuko frowned, and then frowned harder when he noted that the face didn't match his own expressions.

That's when he felt a tugging sensation near the top of his head and a feeling akin to waking after a deep sleep. Then it was as if he separated from himself, drifting away from the body that didn't belong to him. He found himself standing opposite the man, allowing him to take him in fully.

The man was a soldier, that much was plain to see. Zuko had been around warriors his entire life and knew what they looked like. He took in the man's broad shoulders, the muscles that had been hardened in battle, the scars that littered the man's exposed forearms. Zuko even noted one that could've been from a sword slash that went through the man's right eyebrow, narrowly missing the eye.

That's when the man looked straight at Zuko and smiled warmly. Reticent though he usually was, Zuko found himself returning the expression as fully as he could. The man's eyes darted to the Crown atop Zuko's head and his smile widened, going from friendly acknowledgment to amused realisation.

He bowed at the waist, the bow of one noble to another. He said, "Fire Lord."

His voice was deep and resonant, rich and layered. Zuko envied him that. He returned the bow and the greeting. "Fire Lord."

Zuko couldn't help but say, "I—I don't know who you are."

The man laughed and it reminded him of Iroh, deep and full of mirth. Voice still bubbling with restrained amusement the man said, "I didn't think you would. You've come a long way."

Zuko asked, "Is this the Spirit World?"

The man seemed to consider it. He answered, "No, I don't think so. This is… something else. Something in-between, I think."

"Who are you?"

The man nodded. "You must forgive me, the manners of a king are new to me. I am Khazhida, Lord of Fire."

Zuko's eyes widened in shock. He knew the name; everyone in the Fire Nation knew the name. Khazhida the First, Khazhida the Founder, Khazhida the Lawgiver.

Zuko dropped into the bow that a novice gave to a Grandmaster. Khazhida raised an eyebrow at him. He said softly, "Rise to your feet, Fire Lord, you are no less than I."

Zuko stayed where he was, shaking his head. "You—you are so much more. You are the First, Agni's Chosen."

Khazhida couldn't help but snort at that. Zuko's head shot up at the sound, a mildly indignant look on his face.

Khazhida said, "I wasn't chosen. I chose. I saw what our people were doing and I made a choice. Nothing more. I think you know what I mean."

Zuko sat up in a kneeling position, his head nodding slowly. He said simply, "I do."

Khazhida knelt opposite him. He stared deep into Zuko's eyes and a sadness entered his face. "You've seen war. Haven't you?"

Zuko nodded again. He said, "I was born into it."

Sadness turned into a mild anger in Khazhida's eyes. "I fought to put an end to that. I suffered in the hopes that you wouldn't have to."

Zuko shrugged a shoulder and looked away. He offered, "It lasted for a long time. But it seems like war is in our blood. It's our fate."

He couldn't help but think of his actions during the Hundred Year War, not to mention the Harmony Restoration Movement. A hand settled on his shoulder, radiating a comforting heat.

Zuko looked up. Khazhida offered a smile. He said, "Let me tell you a secret, Fire Lord. Fate? There's no such thing. Life is precisely what you make of it. You might be guided and affected by the actions of others, just as your own will affect others, but ultimately; you are the master of your own destiny. The weaver of your own fate. Try and do me a favour, Fire Lord."

"Anything."

Khazhida leaned forward and whispered in Zuko's ear, "Make it worthwhile."

Zuko opened his eyes and stared at the ornate carving of a man bowing to a dragon.


	2. Chapter 2

Zuko sat in his office, staring off towards the ceiling. His fingers drummed along the top of his desk. Occasionally his eyes descended to take in the piles of papers that required his attention, his seal and signature, but he couldn't bring himself to look at them.

Khazhida had never sat in the Fire Lord's office. He'd never utilised the Royal Seal. He'd never even sat upon the Dragon Throne behind the curtain of flames. Those staples of the Fire Lord didn't exist then. The Palace as it was now was only five hundred years old, and the one before that hadn't been the one built by Khazhida and his followers. The Seal of the Royal Family wouldn't be created until two hundred years after Khazhida's death; though it did use aspects of the man's personal crest. As for the Dragon Throne, that was crafted in the latter years of Sozin's reign, after he declared open season on the dragons.

After leaving the Catacombs, Zuko had gone straight to the Royal Library and found every scroll he could on the First Fire Lord. There wasn't much; and what was there was mostly legends, mythology. Very little in terms of concrete facts about the Fire Nation's Founder.

Zuko thought of the man that he'd met, the memory of the man. He thought of tired eyes and a warm smile. He thought of the warrior's physique and the gentle, comforting hands. He thought of a young man who looked far too old. It made him sad in a way he couldn't quite articulate.

Zuko rose from his chair and stepped out from behind his paperwork-laden desk. It would keep, for now. He exited the office.

As servants and guards passed him, each one bowed deeply, the bow of a subject to their Lord. He made a point of nodding his head to them; he tried to give that same warm smile that Khazhida had given him. He doubted he'd been successful; his smiles always seemed a little forced to him unless someone startled them out of him. Still, he thought, maybe it would come with practice.

Zuko found himself walking through the portrait gallery, specifically the wing dedicated to the Lords and Ladies of Fire. There wasn't a portrait of Fire Lord Khazhida; the practice began five hundred years after his reign had ended. The closest thing that existed was in the main gallery, a painting by an unknown artist that showed a broad-shouldered figured, crowned, and shrouded in flames. Zuko didn't know the original title, but Sozin had renamed it '_The Birth of a Nation_'. Zuko chose not to go and look at it; it bore no resemblance to the man he'd met in the Dragonbone Catacombs.

He stopped beside his own official portrait. He frowned absently at it. It had been completed a few months after his coronation. His scar looked bold against the paleness of his skin, and the crown and robes looked awkward on him. He half-smiled; he still felt awkward in them, like he was wearing a costume.

He walked away from him his portrait. He had paperwork to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Zuko laid in bed that night, unable to sleep. He tossed and turned for a few hours before he finally rose and wrapped himself in a warm sleeping robe. He walked into the far left corner of the Fire Lord's bedchamber and shifted a sconce two inches to the right; the wall next to it opened with barely a hiss, a gap that he had to duck his head to fit through. He pushed the door closed behind him, holding it until he heard the lock click into place.

Zuko walked deep into the Palace's hidden passages until he began to descend into the Dragonbone Catacombs. The two sets of tunnels had remained separate for most of their lives until about three hundred years ago when the reigning Fire Lady, a woman named Agir, had ordered them to be connected, allowing her unfettered access whenever she'd desired. Fire Lady Agir had then had the workers executed by immolation and their charred remains displayed on the outer walls of the Palace for all to see. Later generations came to nickname her 'Agir the Unstable' for a reason. Thankfully her daughter, Zharm, proved a much more stable figure.

Zuko kept walking until he reached the carving of Khazhida and the dragon. After his encounter with the memory of the First Fire Lord, Zuko had fled the tunnels, somewhat unsettled by the experience. This time, he chose to go deeper.

There were other carvings, each one depicting some of the myths that Zuko had read about. Communing with the Sun-Spirit, Agni. Defeating the usurper, Zafula. Learning and developing a new form of Firebending while watching the flight of a majestic Phoenix. The construction of the first Palace. Each one, while simplistic in its rendition, spoke volumes about the man. Zuko considered his own challenges as Fire Lord; weighty though they were, they paled in comparison to forging a united country out of countless warring clans. It was trite but true that the People of Fire had a temper; the fire in their blood made their passions run hot, and it made them quick to anger. Add in the various warrior traditions in their culture and the Fire Nation could be a contentious people.

Zuko stopped when he recognised an aspect of one of the carvings. The Eternal Flame was a common motif in the Fire Nation; his own Crown represented it, as did the flames that burned before the Dragon Throne. It featured in a number of their classic stories, as well as many contemporary plays. The Eternal Flame was a central element in most portrayals of _Love amongst the Dragons_, though the Ember Island Players had always chosen to omit it; a choice that Zuko had never understood or agreed with.

The carving showed Khazhida knelt before the Eternal Flame, a portion of it burning above his head, where the Crown should be.

Zuko frowned. He'd seen the Eternal Flame for himself, when he and Aang had visited the ruins of the Sun Warriors and found them very much alive. He'd known, of course, that the Fire Nation and Firebending was connected to the ancient Sun Warrior society, but this could suggest something more…

He reached out to run his fingertips along the carving of the Eternal Flame, and was once more outside of himself.


	4. Chapter 4

What he saw was the Sun Warrior ruins as they once were. The grandeur almost overwhelmed him. Everything was crafted from a bright yellow stone and what wasn't stone looked to be made of gold. The sun glinted of the building around him, almost blinding him.

Zuko gazed all around, searching for Khazhida. He found the man knelt before another; Zuko recognised the other man's headdress as that belonging to the Chief of the Sun Warrior people.

Zuko heard Khazhida say, "I seek an audience before the Dragon Sugoi, the Master of the Eternal Flame."

The Chief asked, "And what do you bring before the Great Dragon?"

Khazhida answered, "My heart. My soul. My flame."

This appeared to satisfy the Chief, for he bowed to the knelt man and said, "I will take your request before Sugoi. Remain here."

He left. Khazhida turned and saw Zuko standing there. He smiled and Zuko found himself returning it.

Khazhida greeted him with, "Fire Lord."

Zuko returned it. "Fire Lord."

Khazhida shook his head. "No, not yet. Soon though, by the grace of Agni."

Zuko frowned. "Our history doesn't talk about this. Point of fact, it doesn't talk much about _you_. Not with any facts, at any rate. Just legends, really."

Khazhida chuckled. "It's not a bad life, the life of a legend. It's the fate of all great men and women, to be immortalised even as the truth is forgotten."

"The truth?"

Khazhida's smile turned a little sad. "That no one is truly great. We are all merely human. Flawed by our very nature."

"I've never considered it."

The soon-to-be Fire Lord shrugged a shoulder. "Something to think about, perhaps."

Zuko nodded. Then he asked, "How come you can see me? I've been thinking of you as… a memory, I suppose. So how come you can see me, speak to me?"

Khazhida seemed to consider the question. "I don't rightly know."

Zuko pushed, "You didn't seem particularly surprised to see me."

Khazhida laughed again. "I learned a long time ago that Agni moves in mysterious ways. When I accepted that fact, life became a lot less surprising."

Zuko sighed but accepted the non-answer. He asked, "Why are you here?"

Khazhida gestured all around. "The Sun Warriors were the first of us. The first to truly know Fire. Their ancestors left the safety of the Great Lion Turtles and entered to wilds to build something new. Their culture has faded somewhat since those days, but it seemed… proper to seek their approval. Their blessing. I imagine by your time they've all but gone."

Zuko smiled but shook his head. "They live on. Their city is in ruins but its people and their traditions still exist, albeit in secret."

Khazhida smiled widely. "It does me good to hear you say that."

Zuko asked, "Are you scared?"

Khazhida raised an eyebrow. "Scared?"

Zuko gestured up towards the main temple, where the dragon waited. "You're about to be judged by a dragon. It can be… unsettling."

Khazhida eyed him. "You've been in my shoes."

Zuko shook his head. "Not exactly. I came here with my student to seek a new way of Firebending. Or, rather, an old way of Firebending."

Khazhida frowned at him. "How do the benders of your time use Fire?"

Zuko sighed and looked away. "With anger and hatred."

Khazhida matched his sigh, drawing Zuko's gaze back towards him. "I feared as much. Many of the men and women I command do the same, as do our enemies. I hoped to change that once the clans united, but it would seem I will be unsuccessful."

Zuko shrugged. "Or something is lost on the path between you and I."

Khazhida smiled slightly in thanks. "Perhaps so."

He was quiet a moment then he said, "Forgive me for saying so but you seem very young, especially for one seemingly so used to the weight of the Crown."

"I took the throne young. I was sixteen."

Khazhida sighed. "Sixteen. Still a boy, really, though some would argue it as manhood."

Zuko nodded. Then a thought occurred to him. "The last time we met, you were Fire Lord."

Khazhida nodded, smiling. "And?"

"How could you remember me if it hasn't happened for you yet?"

"Maybe I'm a Seer."

Zuko raised an eyebrow at the man. Khazhida's straight face held out for a moment before he laughed. "Fine, I admit, I'm not a Seer. Not as far as I know, at any rate."

He sighed and continued, "In most ways that matter, I am Lord of Fire. Most of the major clans answer to me and only me. Many of the smaller ones too. However, it doesn't seem…"

He paused, as if hesitant. Zuko was struck with a bizarre sense of familiarity. He saw himself in the First Fire Lord. The hesitancy, the lack of confidence. It was almost unsettling.

Zuko completed his sentence. "Real? It doesn't feel like the title belongs to you. Like it doesn't fit."

Khazhida smiled in apparent relief. "Precisely. I hope that the Sun Warriors and the Dragon Sugoi will give me a sense of… legitimacy. It would make me feel that my rule was Agni's will rather than my skill on the battlefield. My ability to kill and conquer men and women."

Zuko nodded. "I understand that. I've held the throne for a few years now but it still doesn't seem real. The manner in which I ascended doesn't help matters."

"How did you ascend, Fire Lord?"

Zuko looked away as he said, "The Avatar took my father's bending, along with his right to rule. I was forced to face my sister in ritual combat for the throne."

It was almost grief that crossed the man's face. "I am sorry. Your sister, does she live?"

Zuko nodded. "Her body does. Her mind though was… broken. Fractured by her defeat."

Khazhida nodded in response. "It happens sometimes. Especially to those that have never tasted it before. It's like a poison in their minds."

"Yes."

The sound of footsteps approached. The two looked over to see the Chief approaching once more.

Khazhida said, "It would seem my time of judgement is at hand. Any advice?"

This was said with a smile. Zuko replied, "Be honest. It'll know if you're not."

Khazhida laughed. He bowed to Zuko, and Zuko returned it. One Lord bowing to another.

"Goodbye, Fire Lord."

"Goodbye, Fire Lord."


End file.
